I have been using Jon Benson’s EODD plan which says pretty much the same thing as you are for quite a while and boy does it work. My question concerns how to optimize this type of eating plan with cardio vs resistance workouts. Typically, my high carb days fall on Wed and Sat. on Wed I usually do my hardest full body resistance training of the week and on Sat am I do my longest endurance cardio of the week (about 10 mile run). Am I doing this right? My highest calorie intake days of the week are also my highest calories burned days. Should I be switching this around?

There HAS to be a better way. I couldn’t imagine eating that rubbish! Donuts, you gotta be joking, pizza, yuck, and whatever those brown things were, no thanks. Surely there must be better things to eat that will still give me the leptin effects you talk of. I don’t do “grains” or much dairy except for cheese and heavy cream and get all my carbs from green vegies. So can you suggest how I can keep my leptin levels up within these parameters? Thanks.

Regards,
Alan.

Hi there Vince,

just one question. You say we can have all these food on our cheat DAY, meaning donuts, pizzas, brownies, etc. The thing I’m curious about is how are we going to get rid of it from then? Sure our leptin levels remain consistent as if we’re not actually dieting, but I’m pretty sure our metabolism as well as our workouts won’t even come close to getting rid of all of those intake.

I’ve done a somewhat physics calculation with a bag of M&M’s. They are about 240 calories. You would need be carrying over 14,000 lbs and walking on steps equal to 3.5 meters high about 10 times. And that was only 240 calories compared to over 2000 if I were to consume that many brownies. Consider the trans fat! (Is it true that trans fat stays in your body forever?)

I am not criticizing yours or Joel Marion’s program in anyway, I’m just curious of the calculations behind it.

I’m currently 121 lbs and I wrestle. I’m going to need to lose about 9lbs in a month for the 112 lb weight division and I’ve got to maintain it. How would it be possible for me to follow this diet/lifestyle considering my situation?

Currently, I have just finished my master cleanse and I’m breaking it at the moment with orange juice, then finishing it with a fruit salad. I am however going back to eating eggs, steaks, salmon, fruits, and such after my body can digest normal foods again.

What is your response?

Thanks Vince and Joel for nonstop tips!

James

my understanding:

day 1 – strict diet
day 2 – moderatley strict diet
day 3 – chuck in a cheat meal high in carbs
day 4 – strict diet
day 5 – moderatlety strict diet
day 6 – cheat day
day 7 – strict diet

?

I’ve personally been on the CYWT program for a while now, and it really does work wonders.

For me it’s been all about eating healthy, lots of steak, fish and chicken/turkey on low carb days, working up to more fruits and such during low GI days, and finally be able to take it into more of pasta and bread at the end of the week, while going all-out on the cheat day and just eat whatever I fell like.

It’s not only the easiest diet I’ve ever followed psychologically, since the next cheat day is never far away, but also I’ve been seeing some quite awesome results. I have about 5 more weeks to go before my deadlines in terms of BF levels, weight and strength levels, but when I finish up, I’ll be more than happy to show you some of my before- and after pictures. Should be wicked.

All the best,

Fred

@Meredith – Fruit… bananas are my fav. probably eat 3-4 a day. Awesome for athletes.

Joel and Vince thanks for these excellent blog entries, there’s some brilliant things to be learned within.

Now for a couple of quick questions:
-Is there any reason why you can’t cycle your carbs as recommended but on a daily basis. Therefore cramming one weeks approach into a single day?
-How long does it take for leptin levels to increase once you’ve consumed a meal high in high GI carbs
-What impact does training and the burning of carbs have on leptin levels?

Thanks for your time

I don’t understand one thing : Vince has always been presented as “skinny Vinny”, and he appears now as an ancient fat guy with a big belly. When that big belly has appeared ? Is before having training so hard or after he gave up his training for some monthes ?

Hi,
Just wondered by strict do you mean just meat and veg,How many cals does it matter.how many cals for a strict,moderate or cheat day?What types of food can you eat on each cycle?

Hey,
Is this new program any different to the previous CYWT? i used the older version and saw some good results in fat loss. However i made some changes in my nutrition as my goal changed from fat burning mode to muscle bulding mode. Im now focusin on losing the fat. I wish to decrease my body fat from 11% to 6%, so should i follow the older version of CYWT which i own?
Thanx for all the gr8 information.

What are we talking for percentages of carbs for low/med and high? or how many grams?

Thanks

@Devil, with CYWT you have only one cheat day a week.

@Alan – Hi. I am Type O blood and also like to keep fats and carbs separated; so, I eat few grains and limit recipe use. I can eat some types of beans, which, when cooked up, semi-cooled, and then blenderized with some celery and carrot (raw) are great without any salt or fats. I can eat millet, and grain is the only thing I salt anymore–though I use half of what I used to. I cook chicken until it is REALLY done, and I don’t miss salt. I cook beef rare and I don’t miss salt, though I use herbs with my meats.
I don’t use air-conditioning and spent all of last Summer in the South. My energy stayed up with lots of fresh, sweet fruits, eaten as a meal by themselves. I figured I would start needing salt, since I sweat a LOT here in the South. Finally, at the end of Summer, I did. So, i cooked-up some millet and doused it with salt–like grits without the fat. Just one pot of this, eaten over a couple of meals, took care of my salt craving for over a month.
If I feel like my body is nourished, my metabolism is up, and I have a LOT of work to get done that day, I will add some butter to the millet, or saute onions in oils and add that to something with carbs, or make a fatty dessert. The old-time farmers ate pie at lunch time to keep their energy up as they hacked at plants and dirt all afternoon. Most of the time I don’t need such a long-term blood-supply of food.
And when my metabolism feels low, I will eat fat with carbs, still limiting foods to my blood-type recommendations–which recommendations I think keeps my leptin levels balanced with my carb intake. I used to eat mostly what my blood type shouldn’t and I could not get enough food–wheat, corn, peanuts, navy and pinto beans. AND I always felt low in energy. (I was even put on thyroid supplementation for a while.) Fat with carbs does the same low-energy thing to me. Salt fights potassium use in my body. I choose between things–not eliminating them, but spacing them from each-other in my body. I even eat, but only several times a year, some of what my blood type does not utilize properly.
Until I got on the blood-type diet and got organic forms of the foods that mature in the ground: grains, beans, winter squashes and most root crops, I had a hard time finding food I could feel good on.

Also, years ago, I studied THE BODY TYPE PROGRAM by a Jewish-looking, very helpful, guy and a lady named King. My body-type has changed, and that information really helped me. The blood type diet, by D’Adamo, is still my first filter for food.

@Adam – I know that if I don’t have a good breakfast, low in fat, but full of nutrition, I over-eat all day and my metabolism never gets going properly. I used to be opposite, but that was a different body type. i was the one body type that CAN change.

On treat days, I will eat fatty foods at breakfast

Hey Vince! Glad to hear the diet is going well. Great job.

I definitely think Joel is on to something here with the strategic cheating and planned low, moderate, and high carb days. Makes a lot of sense, especially after learning about leptin. I will definitely use this approach for my next shred phase.

I’m wondering if a similar approach would work for gaining muscle mass as well? How can we harness this knowledge about leptin and strategic cycing for building muscle without packing on too much fat?

I’m thinking if one was to “eat for their training” and cycle high, moderate, low carbs and then have an all out cheat day… that might help keep bodyfat levels low while gaining mass. Of course, overall you’d need to be in a caloric surplus throughout the week. Any thoughts or suggestions on this?

Take care bro,

Brandon Cook
HardgainerMuscleBuilding.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leptin

Effect of Leptin on potential prostate cancer development

Leptin may stimulate prostate growth and angiogenesis, and receptors for leptin are present in the prostate. To determine if leptin is associated with increased risk of prostate cancer, Stattin et al. (2001) identified 149 men with prostate cancer (together with 298 matched referents) who had participated in population-based health surveys in Northern Sweden before diagnosis. Leptin, insulin (176730), IGF1, IGFBP1 (146730), IGFBP2 (146731), IGFBP3, testosterone, and sex hormone-binding globulin (182205) were analyzed in stored samples. Relative risk estimates (95% confidence intervals) of prostate cancer over the quintiles of leptin were 1.0, 2.1 (1.1-4.1), 2.6 (1.4-4.8), 1.4 (0.7-2.7), and 1.6 (0.8-3.2). Adjustments for metabolic variables, testosterone, and IGF and its binding proteins did not attenuate this increased risk. The authors concluded that moderately elevated plasma leptin concentrations are associated with later development of prostate cancer. This may be due to direct effects of leptin on prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia lesions, or to indirect actions through other mechanisms.

Hey Joel,

Great stuff you got here..Completely scientific and logical..Can’t wait to start this off..But clarify something for me here..if sunday is my cheat day..I should go low-carb on monday, moderate on tue, high on wed, then low again on thur, moderate on fri..But what about sat?..Cause Sunday again is gonna be my cheat day..So can’t go high carb on sat right?..So how do I go about it?..Thanks a lot!

When I’m not on a cheat day should I eat low-carbs? I have about 60 grams of dextrose with my pre and post workout protein shake, and if the “regular” days of Joel’s diet are a low-carb this could be a serious problem for me. Can i build muscle with this diet or it’s just for fat loss?

@Alan –
Um, no offense, but if you don’t eat any of the aforementioned foods and you eat what you say you do, then either you must be eating a hell of a lot of it, or you’re starving yourself if you have problems maintaining your fat levels. And if not, then you have no right to be destructively criticizing the author of this article.
The whole point behind is that leptin cases satiety and thus aids in the catabolism of fat. If you, every once in a while, cause it to spike, then your body will in effect burn off energy as a result of this. It just so happens that leptin is activated as a result of carbohydrate intake. As such, the donuts and the pizza are merely examples of very high carbohydrate foods that will engage this series of reactions to take place in your body.
In conclusion, if you can take control of the chemicals inside your body, then you should have no problem in this weight loss process.
(it’s actually pretty cool if you decide to do further research on the topic)

@Alan – Hi Alan, we addressed this question about 3 times on yesterday’s post. Please the detailed responses there!

All the best,

Joel

Originally Posted By JamesHi there Vince,

just one question. You say we can have all these food on our cheat DAY, meaning donuts, pizzas, brownies, etc. The thing I’m curious about is how are we going to get rid of it from then? Sure our leptin levels remain consistent as if we’re not actually dieting, but I’m pretty sure our metabolism as well as our workouts won’t even come close to getting rid of all of those intake.

I’ve done a somewhat physics calculation with a bag of M&M’s. They are about 240 calories. You would need be carrying over 14,000 lbs and walking on steps equal to 3.5 meters high about 10 times. And that was only 240 calories compared to over 2000 if I were to consume that many brownies. Consider the trans fat! (Is it true that trans fat stays in your body forever?)

I am not criticizing yours or Joel Marion’s program in anyway, I’m just curious of the calculations behind it.

I’m currently 121 lbs and I wrestle. I’m going to need to lose about 9lbs in a month for the 112 lb weight division and I’ve got to maintain it. How would it be possible for me to follow this diet/lifestyle considering my situation?

Currently, I have just finished my master cleanse and I’m breaking it at the moment with orange juice, then finishing it with a fruit salad. I am however going back to eating eggs, steaks, salmon, fruits, and such after my body can digest normal foods again.

What is your response?

Thanks Vince and Joel for nonstop tips!

James

Losing body fat goes a lot deeper than calories in/calories out. Simply put, at 121 lbs, you’re not going to be able to eat 10K calories in a cheat day if you follow the guidelines of never stuffing yourself.

The plan, as outlined, works…incredibly well. You just need to take a bit of a leap of faith and trust that it does…I think the science I’ve shared is a great grounds for you to make that decision.

-Joel

Originally Posted By Lili@Devil, with CYWT you have only one cheat day a week.

With the holiday edition, it will be more liberal…allowing you to cheat on every holiday from thanksgiving through new years day.

And we set up a strategic plan around that.

-Joel

Originally Posted By Fred EklundI’ve personally been on the CYWT program for a while now, and it really does work wonders.

For me it’s been all about eating healthy, lots of steak, fish and chicken/turkey on low carb days, working up to more fruits and such during low GI days, and finally be able to take it into more of pasta and bread at the end of the week, while going all-out on the cheat day and just eat whatever I fell like.

It’s not only the easiest diet I’ve ever followed psychologically, since the next cheat day is never far away, but also I’ve been seeing some quite awesome results. I have about 5 more weeks to go before my deadlines in terms of BF levels, weight and strength levels, but when I finish up, I’ll be more than happy to show you some of my before- and after pictures. Should be wicked.

All the best,

Fred

Thanks for the update, Fred. Believe me, this is incredibly common! So glad you’ve got hold of a program that is getting you where you want to be.

All the best,

Joel

Originally Posted By AdamJoel and Vince thanks for these excellent blog entries, there’s some brilliant things to be learned within.

Now for a couple of quick questions:
-Is there any reason why you can’t cycle your carbs as recommended but on a daily basis. Therefore cramming one weeks approach into a single day?

There really would be no physiological benefit to doing this and leptin does not respond that quickly (to single meals, etc).

-How long does it take for leptin levels to increase once you’ve consumed a meal high in high GI carbs

Leptin levels respond to prolonged over feeding and/or carbohydrate manipulation (over the course of a day), not individual meals

-What impact does training and the burning of carbs have on leptin levels?

Just need to eat a bit more, but since training stimulates appetite, probably won’t be a problem

Thanks for your time

Anytime!

Originally Posted By Paulhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leptin

Effect of Leptin on potential prostate cancer development

Leptin may stimulate prostate growth and angiogenesis, and receptors for leptin are present in the prostate. To determine if leptin is associated with increased risk of prostate cancer, Stattin et al. (2001) identified 149 men with prostate cancer (together with 298 matched referents) who had participated in population-based health surveys in Northern Sweden before diagnosis. Leptin, insulin (176730), IGF1, IGFBP1 (146730), IGFBP2 (146731), IGFBP3, testosterone, and sex hormone-binding globulin (182205) were analyzed in stored samples. Relative risk estimates (95% confidence intervals) of prostate cancer over the quintiles of leptin were 1.0, 2.1 (1.1-4.1), 2.6 (1.4-4.8), 1.4 (0.7-2.7), and 1.6 (0.8-3.2). Adjustments for metabolic variables, testosterone, and IGF and its binding proteins did not attenuate this increased risk. The authors concluded that moderately elevated plasma leptin concentrations are associated with later development of prostate cancer. This may be due to direct effects of leptin on prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia lesions, or to indirect actions through other mechanisms.

Correlation does not equal causation. When you understand leptin resistance in overweight people (who have high levels of leptin day in and day out), then you understand why this data means close to nothing, and is instead related to poor diet and high levels of body fat.

As far as manipulating leptin to lose body fat while eating a healthy diet 90% of the time, it has zero relevance.

-Joel

This really sounds like the EODD to me! Different approach dieting that does work. I just don’t see true difference between the two and why anyone would buy your program over Benson’s. He also has more extreme approaches to get you completely shredded.

Originally Posted By MattThis really sounds like the EODD to me! Different approach dieting that does work. I just don’t see true difference between the two and why anyone would buy your program over Benson’s. He also has more extreme approaches to get you completely shredded.

A cheat meal every other day is not even similar in the slightest to what I recommend. If you read the last two of my articles that Vince has posted, I just can’t see how anyone (with knowledge of Jon’s program and mine) would say that are the same. I mean, they’re not even close beyond the fact that there is some cheating involved in both.

-Joel

Wow vince u are stupid. Giving tips like you are all strong and ripped. My ass you are a weak punk

Hey. Thanks for information.

So over the course of one week, you have 1 cheat day? So lets say the cheat day is saturday, from sunday to friday you are slightly increasing carbs until saturday where you overload, with like High fat + hi carbs meals, i.e. peanut butter and toast? and then repeat on sunday again with a low carb diet? Does this low carb+ high fat diet revolve around calories or is the HI fat + carbs the trick? the type of food you consume? Complex carbs and such?

thanks

Hey Joel/Vince,
I’m growing more confident with this method with each new article from Joel and also after doing alot of research myself. One question I have relates to leptin resistance. It seems that in obese and overweight people this is the problem. If someone has high leptin resistance then no amount of cheat days will ever give them the effects desired. Does the CYWT program offer any solution to rectifying leptin response to the brain in people who have high leptin resistance?

@Joel Marion – Well I do have knowledge of the EODD. But I don’t have too much knowledge your program other than the fact that your objective is to keep your leptin levels sky high. You say that you can do this through “strategic carbohydrate cycling” which I know works from personal experience. 3 days low carb then on the 4th day high carb, that’s not a mystery. It’s an industry standard at this point. What separates your program from the others? What are the advantages?

Vince,
I have a hard time believing that you are eating an entire plate of brownies or an entire pizza on your cheat (treat) days while you are trying to get photo ready. I also can’t believe that you can’t manipulate your leptin levels with fruit and other more healthy forms of carbohydrates rather than the junk you are showing. Junk food is still junk and cause much more harm to your body than simply weight gain.

Well said Steve, It is not about treating your way thin as it is telling some people what they want to hear just to sell a program why yes you can eat crap and get thin why not throw a six pack of beer in with the pizza after all they are mostly carbs! Sad very sad:(

I’m diallin into by last 5lbs of body fat, currently SLAVING in the gym, so i was curious if this diet means i would have to change my training program?

Also would this replace the final week “carb load/water deplete” method for a photoshoot?

By the way, im slavin on Vince’s 5day overdrive program… im coverd in sweat and gaspin for air every day….

Hey vince, im confused on how cardio is worked in conjunction to the cheat days. for example, lots of cardio on cheat days, or little?

great article! thanks! looking fwd to trying carb cycling!

It’s just a matter of suspending your disbelief and taking some god damn action. I’m on the program right now and combining it with a great training routine, as we all should. I’m telling you that this approach WORKS. Take a leap of faith on this one and buy me a beer as thanks!

Fred

@Joel Marion – Yeah, Joel, it’s gone from 85% to 90%. So, after getting it out of you that you can actually eat healthy foods and achieve the same objectives, we’ve now managed to drag another 5% away from the dark side.

True, correlation does not equal causation, but, by your own admission, Joel, knowledge of this hormone, about which you and Vince have suddenly become world experts, is recent. The truth is that it is still in experimental phase in the scientific community. What you say the data means or doesn’t mean is certainly of interest to me, and I enjoy reading what you say and learning from it, but we need a lot more research and findings over the coming years.

My father in-law has never been obese. On the contrary, he’s always been slim and very handsome, thanks also to a generally good diet and an active lifestyle. But he got prostate cancer (thankfully caught in time and all now under control) and this was MOST LIKELY caused by an accumulation over the decades of the negative effects (the “rust”, as Vince quite rightly called it in a VERY RECENT video, where he also spoke about cancer) of the rubbish you and Vin say is healthy.

What I’m suggesting is that overfeeding on french fries, donuts, coke and HCFS once a week is BAD for you. And I’m sorry, Joel, you are not an authority on it, and neither is VDM, who was preaching the complete opposite up to a few weeks ago. The degree to which prostate cancer is related to leptin will come out with further research. For the moment, I don’t see that you or Vince are in a position to pronounce on it one way or the other. What you could do, in the meantime, is tell people to eat healthily and not to feel bad if they enjoy a Coke and french fries once a week to take the (presumed) boredom and sting out of dieting. But, as I’ve said elsewhere, we already knew that.

Yours in friendhsip,

Paul

Hi guys,

I’m really excited to try this! I have one question: if you’re not just trying to shred up but also want to gain lean muscle weight, is this program for you? I don’t know my current body fat percentage, but I would definitely like to reduce it, but I would also like to put on 10-15 pounds of muscle. All of the testimonials talk about losing all of this weight, but that’s not my goal! I’d appreciate your insights…

Jason

When I’m not on a cheat day should I eat low-carbs? I have about 60 grams of dextrose with my pre and post workout protein shake, and if the “regular” days of Joel’s diet are a low-carb this could be a serious problem for me. Can i build muscle with this diet or it’s just for fat loss?

Amen Paul!
I know Vince and Joel are saying you dont eat junk food all the time and that it is mostly about clean eating and having a cheat day once a week or every 4th or 5th day. But I, like you, just don’t understand why they – as Joel quoted – demand that you eat junk food! And why would some one who prides themself on their health be advertising the fact that they are going to scoff down junk food on their cheat days when in their programs and videos they spend so much time talking about bad foods and why we should stay away from them. So that is the dishearting part!
Yes, we all eat some bad stuff every now and again – I am pretty fussy and wont do anything like soda or fries or donuts or pastries etc – I may have a pizza once in a while (although I choose to have whole wheat with little or no cheese) – so I can understand how with this program they are saying you can now loose weight while not having to say no to your favorite bad food all of the time. That sounds fair it is just that it seems to be such a pushing point of this program. Why cant more be said about eating a healthy carb and fat combo?
Yeah, pizza can actually be ok – you have choices as far as what your pizza is made of – but soda and fries and donuts and pastries – why would they endorse eating any of that.
I am intersted in how in how leptin works but from a health persceptive.
Why cant they say lets raise leptin levels by eating natural high GI foods like Mace mentioned such as maple syrup and raw honey combined with healthy fats? You’d think that a health minded person, especially one who for a long time has been telling us to stay away from bad foods, wouldnt be making such a point of eating bad stuff, even once a week.
So it is not the program or the idea of leptin levels that I disagree with, it’s more the values of what someone decides to eat.
Actually Ylca just wrote a good comment I think – at least a fair one. Like he says we have to be realistic and it’s ok to have a balance. It’s ok to eat healthy and still enjoy a beer with a friend. It’s ok to go out and enjoy a pizza. I suppose I am just so against eating real junk food like fries and donuts and soda etc and so therefore just don’t undertsand why a health/fitness expert would even say it is ok to eat any of that!

@Vince –
I know Vince believes in how and why this works and it’s true, unless we try it for ourselves we cant put the program down. But for many of us it is not about wanting to put the program down, it is about not undertsanding why a health/fitness expert would suddenly say it is even ok to eat donuts or fries or drink soda??? Especially when in their own programs and videos they talk so openly about avoiding bad fats and unhealthy foods. So regardless of how these food make the program work, I just dont understand why they have changed their beliefs and their values. One day they are saying they believe we shouldn’t be eating bad fats such as the above, then the next day they are saying it is fine to do so.
I think Vince has always protrayed himself to be a very open and honest and upfront person and always comes across in his videos as a real person who may not be 100% perfect with everything all the time but ones credibility and admiration definitely gets changed when one day you hear him say donuts and fries are so bad for you and the next day they are saying they are going to eat them.
I am thinking that is what is making many of us on here confused! Why the sudden self value change?

Originally Posted By DanHey Joel/Vince,
I’m growing more confident with this method with each new article from Joel and also after doing alot of research myself. One question I have relates to leptin resistance. It seems that in obese and overweight people this is the problem. If someone has high leptin resistance then no amount of cheat days will ever give them the effects desired. Does the CYWT program offer any solution to rectifying leptin response to the brain in people who have high leptin resistance?

Yes, “repairing” leptin resistance is the function of the first phase of the program We leave no stone unturned.

Originally Posted By Matt@Joel Marion – Well I do have knowledge of the EODD. But I don’t have too much knowledge your program other than the fact that your objective is to keep your leptin levels sky high. You say that you can do this through “strategic carbohydrate cycling” which I know works from personal experience. 3 days low carb then on the 4th day high carb, that’s not a mystery. It’s an industry standard at this point. What separates your program from the others? What are the advantages?

There are a ton of different ways to approach ‘carb cycling’, some more effective than others. 3 days low carb, one day high is not what I recommend. My recommendations come straight from leptin research (more than 200 papers I’ve studied).

The advantage is that way more research has gone into my ‘carb cycling’ and ‘cheating’ approach (to combine both in the most optimal way) to ensure that the program has the best effect on manipulating leptin and fat loss, than with other programs.

People who recommend ‘carb cycling’ programs may have the same theories as me, but without being aware of, fully studying, or basing their recommendations on a complete understanding of the leptin research, methods will be sub-par.

-Joel

Originally Posted By Paul@Joel Marion – Yeah, Joel, it’s gone from 85% to 90%. So, after getting it out of you that you can actually eat healthy foods and achieve the same objectives, we’ve now managed to drag another 5% away from the dark side.

True, correlation does not equal causation, but, by your own admission, Joel, knowledge of this hormone, about which you and Vince have suddenly become world experts, is recent.

Been doing this for over 6 years, so certainly not “all of a sudden”

The truth is that it is still in experimental phase in the scientific community. What you say the data means or doesn’t mean is certainly of interest to me, and I enjoy reading what you say and learning from it, but we need a lot more research and findings over the coming years.

Yes, more research needs to be done, but I can certainly call out the fallacies of a poorly designed study when I see it. I’m not saying one way or the other regarding what they are researching, but I am saying that this data collected from this particular study really isn’t of value as there are WAY too many other factors that come into play here.

My father in-law has never been obese. On the contrary, he’s always been slim and very handsome, thanks also to a generally good diet and an active lifestyle. But he got prostate cancer (thankfully caught in time and all now under control) and this was MOST LIKELY caused by an accumulation over the decades of the negative effects (the “rust”, as Vince quite rightly called it in a VERY RECENT video, where he also spoke about cancer) of the rubbish you and Vin say is healthy.

No one is calling this food “healthy” food. It’s obvious that it’s not. But when consumed once a week as part of a cheat day, it’s not a health detractor, given that you are following the other 6 days of the program and exercising as prescribed. In fact, the program will help you lose more body fat (quickly) and improve your blood work. Lastly, it will help so many people get WAY healthier who have never been able to stick to a restrictive diet for any period of time previously.

If you’re already someone who has no problem eating totally clean 7 days a week, week after week, then by all means, take the research I’m presenting and go ahead and have a “cleaner” cheat day as I’ve outlined.

What I’m suggesting is that overfeeding on french fries, donuts, coke and HCFS once a week is BAD for you. And I’m sorry, Joel, you are not an authority on it, and neither is VDM, who was preaching the complete opposite up to a few weeks ago. The degree to which prostate cancer is related to leptin will come out with further research. For the moment, I don’t see that you or Vince are in a position to pronounce on it one way or the other.

Again, you are correct, but the study above is not of value in the way it is set up. And knowing everything I do know about leptin, leptin resistance, and it’s function in the body, there are many explanations as to why this data is more than likely incorrect, and instead the cancer attributed to some other factor (mainly, unhealthy diet, lack of exercise, being overweight), and not simply leptin

What you could do, in the meantime, is tell people to eat healthily and not to feel bad if they enjoy a Coke and french fries once a week to take the (presumed) boredom and sting out of dieting. But, as I’ve said elsewhere, we already knew that.

The purpose of “cheating” is not to alleviate boredom — the psychological stuff is a side effect of the incredible physiological fat burning effects of incorporating these strategies into a strategic program.

Yours in friendhsip,

Paul

@Joel Marion –
Ok Joel – this waht you said actually makes sense –

“Lastly, it will help so many people get WAY healthier who have never been able to stick to a restrictive diet for any period of time previously”.

I can see how it is a balance between eating healthy and also being realistic and then on top of it having a positive affect on body fat levels. So in some ways it seems like a win win situation.

I suppose it all just comes down to each of us making our own decisions about what we eat. Those that like to eat pizza and donuts etc can do so still while still reaping the benefits of fat lose. So yeah – that is cool. And I havent followed any of your things much Joel so maybe you are one of those who like to eat a pizza or donut once in a while and have been doing so for a long time.

Vince though always used to talk about avoiding unhealthy fats and carbs so it is just a little sad to hear him say he feels it is now ok to eat a donut etc. Maybe he too has been doing this for a while – I know he likes to go out for drinks and dinner with friends etc and no doubt eats something not totally healthy all the time. But I am just wondering why he is with you on this and agreeing with you that to benifit the most from this prgram we should be eating some bad foods. You even say you demond that we do! And Vince is telling us how many pastries he is going to be eating on his cheat days. Maybe he has just comprimised on his beliefs and has decided to have the best of both worlds and not be so strict anymore on avoiding bad fats and refined suagrs and the junk that goes into junk food!

Have you guys read the “omnivore’s delemma”? When you know what goes into the foods we eat when they are farmed and processed you cant help but do your best to eat healthy – not just 5 days a week but ALL the time!

Hi Joel – ok what you say here actually makes sense –

“Lastly, it will help so many people get WAY healthier who have never been able to stick to a restrictive diet for any period of time previously.”

I can see how it becomes a win win situation for a lot of people. How finally there can be a balance between loosing fat and still being able to enjoy your favorite foods. A way that will actually help people stick with something and reap the benefits.

And maybe you have also been someone who has enjoyed pizza and donuts and soda etc.
As far as Vince, it is just a little sad to have always heard him talk about avoiding bad fats and refined foods etc but now hear him say that it is ok. I can understand he is with you on this as far as why it works though. It’s just he always portrayed himself in his books and videos as some who believed that these bad foods should be avoided. Sure, I know we all may cheat once in a while but now he is on board with you and is saying that he will be eating half a doz donuts and pastries etc. Does he comprise on his own beliefs and health just to make this program work?

Donuts are so bad for you – the oil that they are fried in – all that reheating and cooling and reheating of oil – and all the crap that actually goes in making the donut batter!!! And soda – we used to get preached about the negatives of soda – and the so called rust in create in your body? And all that artificial stuff that goes into brownies!

Have you read the “omnivore’s dilemma”? Once you know what all goes into farmed raised and processed foods that people eat I don’t see why any one would want ever to eat any of that!

So I just don’t understand why someone who used to portray themselves as being health conscious is now saying it is ok to eat it. I know it is only once in every 5 days that you eat a cheat meal but you either say you think junk food is bad for you and you stick by your beliefs or you say it is ok to have it once in a while. Vince you even made some videos of going to restaurants with your friends and saying that you brought your own lunch because you didn’t want to put things in your body that weren’t good for you!

By the way – I do use Vince’s program and am having great success with that and I love all the info you give out and the videos and I have learnt a lot from you but am just now a bit sad to hear you say that you are ok with eating donuts etc when you used to always talk about wanting to stay away from those bad foods for health reasons because you cared about what you put in your body.

The more i read about this program, the more im intrigued, some of those 48 examples are hard to ignore. The idea of “cheat” days is brilliant and im eager to see how it works. I think Vince said once that nobody “knows” anything till they’ve tried it.. its gonna be fun.

Could healthier options be stuff like:
-almond butter on toast
-bison burgers w/ sweet potato chips fried in coconut oil
-spaghetti with grass-fed sausage and olive oil
-Banana maple-syrup and coconut oil smoothies ??

Originally Posted By GarthThe more i read about this program, the more im intrigued, some of those 48 examples are hard to ignore. The idea of “cheat” days is brilliant and im eager to see how it works. I think Vince said once that nobody “knows” anything till they’ve tried it.. its gonna be fun.

Could healthier options be stuff like:
-almond butter on toast
-bison burgers w/ sweet potato chips fried in coconut oil
-spaghetti with grass-fed sausage and olive oil
-Banana maple-syrup and coconut oil smoothies ??

Those sound like great (yummy), “cleaner” options, Garth.

Looking forward to hearing about your success!

Joel

Hi Bro,

I little confussed about the following

Going for a swim after a 45 min of workout the gym. is this good Does this help.
Cause i love swimming. But many people said that this is not good.

wanted a expert comment on this

Hi I just bought the CYWT. I just want to clarify sth. Will I lose fat on the priming phase?

I don’t understand how people can complain, guaranteeing eating this way will do no good, when they haven’t even tried it yet. If you’re going to argue, at least have a better argument than “because I said so.” The whole basis for this diet is the fact that it’s DIFFERENT. So before you comment on how wrong they are and how there is NO possible way it could work, seeing as you are a trained expert on the subject, give it a try eh?

Is this the type of nutrition plan you could potentially follow right up until getting on stage for fitness/figure? I’ve read every post, every comment, and love learning about this stuff. A few of my clients and I are starting to train pretty seriously for a show in April.

Thanks for sharing your obvious passion and dedication for health and fitness.

@Lane – Hey Lane,
Those of us such as Paul and Raymon and myself and others were not putting the program down, nor were we saying the program wouldnt work. We had all heard of this type of stuff before and so were not in disgreement about the actually program working. What we were all mainly concerned about was incorporating the junk food. Its like using an evil to gain something good. I know we are told the junk food is great becasue it works great in this program but regardless one would think that people would care more about what they put in their bodies – I mean donuts and fries!!!! Regardless of the benifits of fat loss as outlined in the program there is nothing good about fries and donuts for the body PERIOD!!! So I think what myself and the others were saying was that we would have expected people who are in the health industry to care more about their food input and talk MORE about healthy option rather then DEMAND as joel puts it that we eat junk food to get the most out of this program. And since when does anyone just jump because we are told to jump. All this bullshit about not questioning the program and just doing it before asking questions and sharing opinions – I mean WTF???

@Andy- For the majority of people trying to begin a diet, cutting out their favorite junk food is the hardest part. The whole point of this program, as I see it, is that you’re not asked unreal expectations of yourself such as never eating another donut again. If you have no problem with eating unhealthy food, and you simply HATE the idea, then obviously don’t do it. But for the majority of people, this gives a great option of eating healthy while still being able to eat your favorites. It helps them clean up their food consumption, and helps them get in better overall shape. Of course you don’t have to eat fries, shakes, and donuts, it seems you are getting hung up on this fact. If you eat as healthily as you make it seem, and you would never consume such horrible foods, substituting something healthier should be quite easy for you. And if, as you said, you have no question about whether this works, what’s the problem? It’s effective and increases overall health. And I don’t believe I ever said “don’t question the program.” I said if you don’t see how it can work, there’s only one way to find out, and that’s by trying it. Big difference.

Good points lane – well said (-:
It makes sense what you wrote! And you are right about how this program will benefit a lot of people because of how it incorporates so called noraml eating with still being able to loose weight. I was just surpirse to hear Vince telling us that he was going to eat donuts after always telling us how healthy he liked to eat. But then again, he himself said that at the time he didnt think eating some junk food was going to help him but now he realises he can eat some junk food and still get the benefits of loosing fat. So maybe he is just saying it in order to help sell the program or maybe he is happy now cause he really does also enjoy a donut and fries.
Again I cant argue with your response – it was well said and to the point and made sense (-;

@Sylvain –

You don’t need to suffer to have success, this have a science, you see skinny dudes fighting with the weights at the gym 5 or 6 days a week, they don’t build any muscle, they overtrain, they don’t even understand the power of heavy weights low reps, they suffer, you see fat girls eating 2 salads ans 2 fruits a day, doing long slow cardio sessions, they get in shape?, yeah maybe 5 % of people trying to have six pack abs can achieve it, and mantain it, why to suffer?
Why it’s so freaking bad pizza? It’s just bread and chesse, why so bad cookies?.. whole rice breaks in sugar aswell… :S
Now i understand why i used to drink 1000 calories(above mantainance) from beer in my “re-feed” days and the next day i weight and looked the same…
And now i understand too why my diet was so clean and i didnt had any more weight lose
Now i can go to the clubs bathroom & look at my six pack abs while holding my rum&coke with my other hand and a smile in my face, without worring at all!, i now i am not undo-ing my 3 days diet and workouts =) lol
Even satured fats are important to build muscle, 20, 30 grams a day wont do any damage…
trans fat are shit, but search for cookies witouth them..

[...] A Double Dose Of Metabolism Protection: Strategic Carbohydrate Cycling [...]

@Meredith – I can agree with that too. I have been on the Jon Benson EODD now for the past 3 weeks and have already lost 4kg (8 pounds). And i have been working out by referring to a book called Metabolic Surge by Nick Nilsson. It’s the best combination of Diet & Workout that I have come across but nonetheless I still obtained a copy of the Cheat Your Way Thin Program for an alternate option but pretty much delivers the same results……I hope )